A Beauly man cried when he confessed to a friend that he had kicked a drinking pal in the face, fracturing his skull.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told yesterday that the assault on Peter MacTavish in a house in the village’s Priory Court on May 21 this year caused him to fall and strike his head on a chair.
As well as a fractured skull, Mr MacTavish sustained cuts to his ear and forehead which required stitches and may leave scarring.
Richard Wilson, 54, of Station Road, admitted a charge of assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement
Fiscal depute Roderick Urquhart told the court that Wilson was drinking with Mr MacTavish and two other men, including householder Allan MacAskill.
Mr Urquhart said: “During the early afternoon, Allan MacAskill was awoken by Wilson shaking him and saying “I’ve done something wrong. I’ve kicked the boy in the face”. He was crying as he said this.
“Mr MacAskill and the accused went down stairs and found Peter MacTavish lying on the floor near to the doorway with blood coming from his head.
“Mr MacAskill applied a towel to the injury and ran across the street to the pub to get an ambulance.”
Mr Urquhart added that Mr MacTavish was shouting at Wilson: “What have you done to me?” and Wilson, who was crying, kept repeating “sorry.”
Mr MacTavish, who had been extremely drunk, recalled waking up, lying on the living room floor in a pool of blood, but had no idea what had happened.
Sentence was deferred until July 27 for a background report.
